Prologue
In a land close enough to touch yet far enough to pretend it does not exist, there is a king.
They do not call him king aloud. They whisper his name like a curse, like something that might hear them if spoken too clearly.
Khalil.
They say his soul is rotten. That his pack is a sealed grave masquerading as a fortress. Once you cross its borders, you do not leave. Not breathing. Not whole. Not sane.
Some swear he slaughtered intruders for sport. Others insist he locked his enemies underground and fed them to the wolves. And everyone, without exception, believes this one thing.
He killed his mate.
The bond snapped. Blood spilled. Darkness won.
Whatever goodness he once held drowned the night she died.
His name crawls beneath the skin. Mothers pull their children closer when it is spoken. Wolves lower their gaze. Alphas look away.
He is Alpha Khalil.
And monsters are never born. They are made.
°°°°°
“That’s bullshit.”
The table cracked beneath his fist as it came down, the sound echoing through the war room. Heat rolled off him in waves, thick and violent, pressing against every wolf present.
“Who the fuck keeps spreading that story?” His eyes burned. Gold shot through black, feral and alive.
No one answered.
“You built this,” one voice finally said, steady but cold. “Your pack. Your reputation. Your violence. Do not act surprised when people fear you.”
He turned to her slowly.
Fearless. Foolish. Beautiful.
“I want no part of this,” she continued. “No part of you.”
“You belong with me,” Khalil growled. The words scraped out of him, etched in possessive fury.
She crossed her arms, chin lifting. “Wrong. My place is with him.”
Something sharp and dangerous passed over his face. “He does not want you,” Khalil said. “He is playing a very dangerous game.”
Her smile was thin. Defiant. Terrifying.
“Then I choose to play it with him.”
The sound that ripped from Khalil’s chest was not human. It was ancient. Raw. His wolf surged forward, claws scraping beneath skin, rage clawing for release.
Her own wolf whimpered. Still, she did not step back.
“Do not test me,” he said quietly. “Woman.”
°°°°°
“I am not letting you go.”
His voice was soft, broken around the edges. His fingers brushed her cheek, rough and warm, lingering as if memorizing her. The touch was possessive, yes, but beneath it trembled something far more dangerous.
Need.
“You are mine.”
She should have pulled away. She should have run.
Instead, she leaned into his palm, heart hammering.
“Yes,” she whispered. “I am yours.”
The moon watched in silence.
★★★★★
I am trapped between two men.
Two Alphas.
One is a nightmare the world fears. A creature carved from rage and blood, who burns everything he touches.
The other is light. Charm. Safety. The Alpha everyone trusts.
I want them both.
And the truth I am most afraid to say aloud is this.
I think the moon goddess bound me to them both.
Two Alphas.
One bond.
And no escaping what fate has already decided.
Mmmmm sounds kinky